


Sweet as sugar, strong as coffee

by reveetoile



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 17:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19856143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveetoile/pseuds/reveetoile
Summary: Nino is an exchange student in America. Aiba spends a few weeks there and meets Nino in a coffee shop. They get closer, but what will happen once Aiba goes back home?





	Sweet as sugar, strong as coffee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [koi_choshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/koi_choshi/gifts).



> This was my Exchange story for koi_choshi. I had fun with your prompts. I like soulmate AUs so of course I had to choose this one. I put some sweets in there as well.

The first time Nino learnt that love wasn’t forever was when he was four years old. He sat on the stairs of his home, half-hidden in the shadows of the night as his parents argued in the living room downstairs. Their voices had been calm at first, but it had changed to screams and shouts shortly after which in turn had woken him up. He had thought the monsters of his nightmares were in his room, but when he ran out of his room to be hugged and calmed down by his parents, he had realised that it had been their voices that had woken him up. He sat frozen on the stairs, peering through the handrail into the living room and watching them saying hurtful words to each other. He didn’t understand them all, he didn’t know what they were arguing about this time, but it scared him a lot. 

“Kazu,” his older sister said as she put her arms around his shoulders. She forced him up onto his feet and back up to their rooms. “You can sleep with me today.” She smiled warmly and Nino took comfort in that. With his sister at his side it wasn’t that hard to ignore the argument and fall asleep once again.

The first time Nino learnt about soulmates was the year after. The shouting late at night had stopped because their father had left them soon after to live on his own. They were allowed to visit him twice a month and even if he missed his father, this was better than being woken up late at night. 

One day his father introduced a woman to them. He explained that she was his soulmate, that he loved her more than anything and that this was the reason he had to divorce their mother. Nino nodded and greeted the woman politely. He didn’t like that she was there since it meant his father wouldn’t be coming back, but he understood that she would be with them from now on. Still, the knowledge that his father would never come back to live with them had hurt.

That night, when everything was silent in their home, his sister climbed into his bed and hugged him close as he snuggled up against her. 

“Doesn’t dad love us anymore?” Nino asked. He knew that he shouldn’t have hoped for it, but deep in his heart, he had always believed that his father still loved his mother and them and would come back. 

Kazumi’s fingers were warm as she ran them through his hair for a while. “Kazu, do you know what a soulmate is?”

Nino shook his head as an answer. Nobody had used that term in front of him before. His father had looked happy when he said it, though. He turned around to look at her with big eyes. “Is it something important?”

She told him a story. “When God created humankind, everyone was whole. But thousands of years ago the humans offended God somehow. To punish them, he pulled their souls apart. From then on the humans weren’t like they were before. They were missing a part of their soul. But God isn’t completely cruel. Yes, he wanted to punish us, but he didn’t want to make us suffer forever. So he didn’t keep that other half of a soul for himself but put it in another person. We can all live happily without that second half of our soul, but something in us will always be looking for it. And when we find it, it’s magical. And our father has found that the other half of his soul now. He fell in love with her; he is happy with her. He still loves us, Kazu, but he wants to spend his life with the woman that is half of his soul. He and mum… They fell out of love, yes. But they never fell out of love with you or me and they never will.”

Nino sighed as he thought about it long and hard. He thought it was cruel for any god to separate something like a soul; it sounded like it had to hurt a lot. “How does he know that she is that part? He could be wrong and hurt her like he hurt mum,” he said after a while.

“There will be a sign on your body when you meet your soulmate, so you’ll know.”

“Does everybody find their soulmate?”

“When the time comes, they will, yes,” she said and pulled softly at his hair to make him look up. “Don’t be upset, ne? Mum knows that our father couldn’t help it. She isn’t upset about it anymore.”

Nino nodded and hid his face against her shoulder. Still, it was unfair, he thought. They had been happy once - now everything was different. He closed his eyes, finally feeling sleepy. “I don’t want to fall in love if I can fall out of it again. I’ll definitely wait until my soulmate appears to fall in love.” 

His sister chuckled as she dropped a kiss on the top of his head. “Sure, if that’s what you want, little brother.” She caressed his head as he fell to sleep beside her and hugged him a little tighter, praying for his wish to come true... but also sure that Nino would forget about it soon.

—

“Hello!” Nino greeted his colleagues when he entered the back of the coffee shop. There was a chorus of greetings in answer before the door to their changing room fell closed. 

A small frown appeared on his face when he was alone again. He was so not looking forward to today; he had slept late because he had talked to his family back in Japan. Nino took off his shirt to put on the coffee shop’s uniform shirt. It had the name of the shop on the back as well as on the apron he was forced to wear while working here. His eyes fell on the mirror in the door and onto the scribbling across his chest. His soulmark had appeared a week ago, but for the love of God, he couldn’t remember when exactly. 

He had always thought that he’d feel it when the words would appear on his skin, but there had been nothing that he could remember. Only that after a long, tiring shift at work he had come home, his mind on taking a shower and an early night, he had realised the writing on his body. He had tried to remember if anybody said something significant to him that day, but nothing came to mind. Still, he couldn’t deny the exciting tickle in the back of his mind as he had looked at the words more thoroughly to try and decipher them. 

_One latte macchiato please._

Nino scoffed at the sentence. If it had been a special kind of order, there might have been a chance that he’d remember it but these words? Every third person ordered a latte macchiato. For a few days, he had hoped that the other person would have come up to the baristas and enquire about the soulmark, but nothing like that had happened.

With a sigh, he put on his shirt and the apron, tying it while entering the the break room. There were still about ten minutes before he had to start, so he sat down on the bench to flip through a magazine lying on the table. He wasn’t interested in all the gossip about celebrities in there, but he liked those few minutes of calm before his work started. 

“It’s hell outside,” one of his colleagues - Julie - told him when she entered the room. 

“How so?”

Julie shrugged as she took off her apron and sat on the chair across from him. “Lunch rush was late today. And everyone are impatient.” She stretched her arms above her head for a second to relax her muscles before jumping to her feet again. “But I’m off now, otherwise the boss might get the idea I want to do some overtime today. You’ll make the drinks today, it seems. The new boy is handling the register. Stella is with him to make sure he remembers the names and all that.”

“Got it, thanks. Have a nice day.” 

Nino watched her leave before finally getting up to go out to the front where he nodded at Stella and the new boy in greeting. Then he settled down in front of the coffee machines beside Luke to start making their patron’s drinks - which were a lot, he realised when he saw all the cups with the written orders on them on the side. 

So no time for dilly-dallying, Nino thought as he got to work. 

—

It took them almost an hour before there was a lull in the shop again. Luke had left a few minutes earlier and Nino had just finished cleaning the counter when he heard his name being called. 

“Hello, Nino-chan! How is your day?”

Nino rolled his eyes when he recognised Aiba’s voice effortlessly. Ever since Aiba had found out that he was an exchange student from Japan, he only talked to him in Japanese. 

“It just got better,” Nino answered with a small grimace. “Why are you here _again_ , Aiba-san?”

Aiba grinned as he settled down on the side counter right next to the coffee machine. “It’s cake time.” Aiba’s sing-song voice. 

Nino tried his best not to flinch while he took care of Aiba’s coffee order. He put the cup down in front of him, which earned him a bright smile from the other man. Nino chuckled at that. It was so easy to make Aiba happy, he thought. 

Aiba looked back at his cake, directing Nino’s attention towards it. The owner of the coffee shop liked trying out new things, so they had changing specialities each day as well as some daily favourites. Today Aiba had managed to get one of the last slices of the tropical cake: A three-layered cake with pineapples and a coconut cream frosting, topped with roasted coconut chips. Stella had told him earlier that it was delicious. The customers seemed to love it, too. 

Nino watched Aiba take the first bite, closing his eyes and leaning back with an almost sinful sounding moan. 

Aiba barely managed hold of the counter before he could fall off the bar stool. “That’s heaven in the form of a cake!”

“Don’t be stupid.” Nino couldn’t help the chuckle escaping him as he looked around, realising that there were no new customers for the moment. 

“It really is! Look at these big slices. I feared that it was dry or the ratio of cream and sponge cake would be off, but this is perfect! There are even pineapple pieces in them to make it moist. Didn’t you try it?”

“Do you know how expensive those cakes are?” Nino asked with a small shudder at the thought. He wasn’t a big fan of sweets or desserts to begin with, and he worked here to earn money, not to spend it. 

“It’s not thaaat much...” Aiba looked around as if to make sure nobody saw him doing something illegal. He put a something on his small fork and held it out for Nino. “Here, try it.”

Nino took a step back before Aiba could poke an eye out with it. “I work here, I can’t just let the customers feed me!” 

“Come on, it’s me, not just any customer” Aiba said with a pout and lifted the fork towards him again.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” Nino moved forward to grab Aiba’s wrist to stop him from pushing the fork into his direction once more. Finally, he stepped forward to close his lips around the fork to eat the offered piece of cake because Aiba didn’t look as if he would stop this display. 

Aiba watched Nino eat in silent awe. It was the first time Nino got so close to him despite them meeting daily and Aiba always spending at least an hour here to talk to the other. Nino’s eyes were half closed as he savoured the taste of the cake, making for a beautiful picture in Aiba’s opinion.

“It’s good,” Nino finally said, looking up with slightly red cheeks when he realised the look on Aiba’s face. “Is there something wrong with my face?”

“What? No, you just looked like you enjoyed the cake. It’s good, right?”

“It’s alright, yes,” Nino said with a laugh.

Aiba’s face fell before he ate the rest of the cake with a shrug. He had gotten what he wanted; Nino had tried the cake, at least. 

—

Nino had gotten used to Aiba visiting the coffee shop every day around three pm. The other man often sat at the counter just beside Nino’s workspace, blabbering on about everything that came to mind and forcing Nino more often than not to try one of the cakes Aiba had (if there were no other customers around). If Nino had work to do, Aiba would either look through his phone or around the shop until Nino had finished and was able to talk again. 

Today Aiba had chosen a cherry cake with dark chocolate sponge and whipped vanilla cream, topped with icing made from fresh cherries. 

“It’s delicious,” Aiba said when he saw Nino looking at it. “You should try it.”

Nino groaned but didn’t protest as he took the offered bite of the cake. This was something he had gotten used to as well, being spoon fed (or more exactly fork fed) by Aiba. “Too much sugar,” he said with a frown. He supposed it was okay for most people, but he didn’t like sweet things. He was a fan of savoury snacks. 

Today there wasn’t much time for them to talk, but Nino could feel Aiba’s eyes on him. So he wasn’t that surprised when Aiba finished his cake and stood up.

“I have to get going,” Aiba said. 

Nino nodded as he concentrated on the latte macchiato another customer had ordered. He glared at the drink, remembering the writing on his chest. He had come to hate this drink. It didn’t help that Aiba ordered it all the time. “Okay,” he replied a bit late when he realised Aiba was still standing in front of the machines. 

“Tomorrow… Do you have to work?”

Nino shook his head as he put the cup down and took the next one to read the order for a hot chocolate. “Nope. My next shift is on Sunday,” he replied with a happy grin. He could catch up on some sleep as well as his games and his studies, so he was looking forward to it. 

“Oh good, I thought we could meet?”

Nino stopped making the drink to look up in surprise. “Meet how?”

“For a drink? Or even better for dinner?”

Nino coughed to hide his surprise about Aiba’s question. “Just to make sure: Are you asking me out?”

Aiba nodded along with his words. “Yes, exactly, a date.”

Nino was floored. He had never been asked out so directly like that. 

Aiba was looking at him with big eyes, waiting for an answer while Nino was still fighting with himself. 

Nino didn’t date. Yes, his vow to wait for his soulmate was silly, even stupid now that he would never find them, but it wasn’t easy for him to just accept that. He looked at Aiba. The other man didn't seem like someone who did one-night-stands. 

Nino sighed before nodding. He didn’t want to hurt the other with a ‘no’. Also, Aiba would only be in America for a few more weeks as he was here for work. After that, he would return to Japan. Nino would stay here for several more months, and he was sure Aiba would forget him. “Okay, where do you want to meet?”

“In front of this shop? At five-ish? We could walk around a little bit, then I’ll take you to dinner. Or a movie?”

“No movies on first dates,” Nino told him with a grimace. Sitting next to each each other and staring at a screen without talking was not his idea of a good time.

“No movies then. I’ll think of something,” Aiba promised. Then his eyes fell onto the clock behind Nino. “Shoot. I have to hurry. See you tomorrow, Nino-chan!”

—

The next day Nino contemplated whether he should go until the designated meeting time. In the end, he went early, just so that he wouldn’t chicken out. He felt a bit stupid standing in front of the shop half an hour before they were supposed to meet, so he went inside to greet his colleagues and ordered plain black coffee before sitting at the counter. 

He sipped the hot coffee while staring at the wooden bar before him, deep in thought. The chair was uncomfortable, Nino thought as he looked up and saw Stella preparing the drinks across from him. Without meaning to, he had chosen the seat Aiba usually sat on. Nino had to wonder if the older man only chose this to be able to talk to him. It was not for comfort, that much was clear. 

“What are you doing here, it’s your day off,” Stella asked after she finished the current orders. 

Nino shrugged as he put the cup to his lips to take a small sip. “Enjoying a cup of good coffee.” 

“He has a date,” Mike, the new boy, explained with a smirk that had Nino wishing he was close enough to hit.

Stella whistled approvingly as she looked him over. “That explains your outfit. Who’s the lucky guy?”

Nino groaned as he hid his face in his hands, after putting down the cup. He didn’t wear anything special: just dark trousers with a dark blue, well fitting shirt on top. “Aiba asked me to go out with him,” he answered before Mike could make another comment. “It’s nothing big, so don’t try to make it into something. He told me to meet here around five, and we’ll have something to eat. I’m sure he is just lonely without Japanese people around. I’m the only one he met here. That’s all.”

“Sure, kid,” she said sagely before starting to giggle as a hectic looking Aiba entered the coffee shop. 

“You’re not that much older than me,” Nino grumbled as he drank the last of his coffee. 

“I’m sorry I’m late. There was a traffic jam,” Aiba said as he bowed, apologising again. 

“It’s fine. I was early.” Nino stood up calmly as he said goodbye to the others. “Let’s go - or do you want to get a coffee?”

“Perhaps later.” Aiba took his hand to lead him out of the shop like it was the most natural thing to do. 

Which wasn’t true, Nino knew, but he couldn’t deny that Aiba’s bigger and warmer hand felt nice. “So where do you want to go?”

“I found a small Italian restaurant that I wanted to try out.”

Nino hummed in understanding as he followed him to the park. 

“But first a small walk,” Aiba continued. “The light installations are beautiful here.”

“Okay, sounds good. Why are you in the U.S.? You told me it’s for work, but what exactly are you doing?”

“Oh, so you were listening,” Aiba exclaimed with an amused twinkle in his eyes. 

“It’s hard not to. You have a loud voice after all,” Nino snorted, stepping out of Aiba’s reach before his elbow could connect with his side. 

Aiba didn’t say anything as he tugged him closer again. “Doesn’t matter. You are listening to me talking, that means you think I’m interesting.”

Nino bit his tongue before he could say something sarcastic in answer. 

“I’m a freelance photographer. I was asked by a travel magazine to come here to take pictures for them. As I have never been to America, I thought, why not? They also sent someone to write about all the sights but he has a crazy schedule. I can’t keep up with him. So he wrote down the places he wants to visit. From those I chose what I like, go there and try to capture everything. And because I can use them for my portfolio as well, I decided to make a longer trip out of it,” Aiba explained.

“Sounds interesting.”

“It’s fun!”

They reached the light installations Aiba had talked about and fell silent as Nino looked in surprise. The lights were beautiful. They transformed this part of the park into something otherworldly. The colourful leaves of the autumn made the picture complete. Nino turned in a circle to take it all in when he heard a click that was almost deafening in the silence surrounding him. He looked back to see Aiba grinning behind his phone as another noise indicated a second picture being taken.

Nino turned completely to look at Aiba with a pout. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry, a force of habit, I think? But I couldn’t help myself. With the lights you just looked like a prince from a fairytale,” Aiba explained with a shy smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

Nino watched him, contemplating his choices. “Show me!” He had never seen a picture by the other before so it would be interesting to see how Aiba saw him just now. 

Aiba complied readily as he searched for the two pictures and opened them before handing the phone to Nino. 

Nino took a few steps back to be out of Aiba’s reach to look at the two pictures. The first one was him from the back: a black shadow in front of the yellow, red and green lights. The second was him looking directly into the camera with a half smiling, half confused look on his face. 

“What are you doing?” Aiba asked when Nino started typing on the phone, panic in his voice. “Please don’t delete them. I like them. I won’t share them, promise!” Aiba lunged forward to take the phone, but Nino quickly sidestepped him with a look of concentration. 

By the time Aiba had managed to take the phone back, Nino was finished and let it go without resistance. Aiba pouted until he discovered his mail program was open and the pictures had been sent to an unknown number. The number wasn’t unknown for long, as Nino’s phone beeped and he opened it to save the images. 

“You think I wouldn’t save pictures of me a professional photographer made? I’m sure your fees are astronomically high.”

“You could have just asked instead of scaring me like that.”

“But where would be the fun in that?” Nino asked. “Also, don’t complain. This way, you don’t have to ask for my number anymore.”

“Who said I wanted it?” 

Nino laughed at the pouty voice and batted his eyelashes at him. “Oh, so I already sucked so much that you wouldn’t contact me anymore?” he asked playfully, ignoring the light sting he felt at that thought. Stupid, stupid feelings, he thought. It would be perfect if Aiba realised he was a terrible date and wouldn’t contact him anymore. 

Aiba fell silent for a second before taking his hand to lead him further. “No, you are right, I wanted it. Are you hungry yet?”

“A little.”

Aiba nodded and led him through the park to the restaurant he had read raving reviews about. He was supposed to take pictures there as well and had made sure to make a reservation and explain everything beforehand. He felt bad for working while on a date, but Nino just laughed when he described his dilemma and promised him only to order expensive food to make him pay for it. 

Despite Nino saying that, he ordered spaghetti in tomato sauce with basil and freshly made juicy meatballs which was not the most expensive dish on the menu. It smelled good. Judging by the sounds Nino made, it also was delicious. 

Aiba had ordered a pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and salami with a salad on the side. It was all beautifully arranged so it was easy to take a few pictures of their food as well as of the restaurant itself. Aiba even managed to take one picture of Nino taking the first bite of his pasta and the half smile when the taste hit him. Only his lips and the cute little mole on his chin were visible. Aiba hoped that he would be allowed to use it. 

“How is it?” 

“Good.” Nino looked up at Aiba to lick his lips and offered him his plate to try a bit. “Thank you for taking me here.”

Aiba shook his head in an answer as he tried Nino’s food before offering him a bite of his pizza, holding out his fork again. 

Nino rolled his eyes even as he held Aiba’s wrist and leaned forward to close his lips around the offered bite. “Mine is better,” he decided after chewing thoughtfully.

Aiba grinned as they finished their food and the red wine that complimented their food. At least that was what the waiter had said when Aiba had asked him. “Do you want dessert?”

Nino grimaced at the question, he honestly had anticipated it while hoping it wouldn’t come. Aiba had a sweet tooth after all. “Sure, why not,” he mumbled after a moment. The evening had been great so far, so he could give Aiba this.

Aiba’s eyes lit up at that, making Nino feel good about his decision. He was sure that Aiba wouldn’t have ordered anything if Nino had said no. 

Nino skimmed the menu again since he hadn’t checked on the dessert part yet and decided on a tiramisu. For a second Aiba looked as if he wanted to order the same but then decided not to. “We can only share if I get something else.”

The caramelised sugar decoration in the pannacotta Aiba had ordered looked good and made a crisp sound when Aiba broke a piece of it to mix with the strawberry sauce and the creamy pudding to try it. The reaction wasn’t as grand as the first time Aiba tried the tropical cake in his shop, but it was close. 

Nino shook his head as he ate his tiramisu. It was very tasty. The bitter taste of the coffee, the sweet cream and the sharp sting of alcohol were a perfect mix. It wasn’t overly sweet or heavy. He sighed happily when the cream melted in his mouth and Nino only realised that he had finished his dessert when his spoon scraped on the bottom of his glass. 

“So it was worth it?”

“Yeah, but I’m really full now.” Nino groaned as he rubbed his slightly bloated belly. 

Aiba laughed as he paid the waiter and pulled Nino up. “Come on, I’m a good date, so I’ll bring you home,” Aiba offered, closing his hand around Nino’s again when the other agreed and told him where he lived. It wasn’t far from the university, since he had been lucky enough to get a decent room at the dorm there. 

The walk back was spent in companionable silence, making Nino realise how much he had enjoyed the evening and being close to Aiba. Being with Aiba was somehow very natural and comfortable. He felt a strange flutter in his stomach when they stopped in front of the dorms, with Aiba looming over him and watching him thoughtfully. 

Nino’s eyes fluttered closed when Aiba came closer. A small chuckle escaped from Aiba as he put a Strand of hair behind Nino’s back and pressed his lips for a short kiss - not more than a peck, really - against his cheeks.

“I promised to behave today. See you again, Nino-chan.”

Aiba’s voice was warm, so close to Nino’s ears. He felt goose-pimples running over his arms when Aiba stepped back looking him over. Nino opened his eyes to look at him for a second before a smile bloomed on his face. “Until later, Aiba-chan,” he replied before turning and entering the dorms.

—

Nino was the one who planned their second date. He couldn’t believe that he had said yes to begin with, but here he was, changing out of his work clothes to go back into the coffee shop where Aiba was sitting savouring another cake. Today it was a mini cake with lemon custard and sweet icing on top. It looked like a fluffy cloud, Nino thought as he sat down next to him on a bar stool. 

“Oh, you were fast,” Aiba mumbled. “Do you want coffee? I’ll pay. Latte Macchiato?”

Nino groaned as he shook his head and ordered one of their speciality coffees: a dark roast with spices and definitely no milk. He thanked Julie when the cup was put down in front of him. “How’s the cake?”

“Good.” Aiba speared a bite on his fork and held it in front of Nino’s lips. Nino rolled his eyes but opened his mouth obediently to taste it. The lemon custard was tangy and the icing on top slightly sweet, which made for a perfect blend of sweetness and sourness. 

Nino hummed in agreement and drank his coffee. “Finish and then we’ll get going.”

“Where to?”

“Arcade games and then a burger place. Afterwards, I’ll get to take you home.” Nino looked over at Aiba for a second fearing that the other would find his choices childish, but Aiba didn’t disappoint. Luckily, he seemed to look forward to it. 

“Sounds like fun.” Once Aiba had finished the cake, Nino poured their drinks into to-go cups before taking Aiba’s hand and leading him out of the shop, doing his best to ignore his friends’ catcalls. 

The date was fun. Aiba was as good at the games as Nino and it was nice to be with someone who knew what they were doing. After their dinner, Nino accompanied Aiba to the hotel he was staying at.

“Thank you for the nice evening,” Nino said as he looked at their clasped hands. 

“I have to thank you for it. It was your idea, after all.” 

Nino smirked as he looked up and moved forward to put a kiss to his cheek. “Good night, Aiba-chan. See you soon.” He watched as Aiba walked to the entrance of the hotel and waved when Aiba turned around once more shortly before the entry. 

Afterwards, their dates followed that same pattern with Aiba planning one date and Nino planning the next. This way they became closer. Nino realised that he was falling more and more for Aiba each time. 

—

It was the day before Aiba had to go back home to Japan. Nino found himself in front of Aiba’s hotel after their date (planned by the older man). He lifted an eyebrow as he looked Aiba over. 

“Stay the night with me?” Aiba asked with a hopeful look. 

“So now, you are trying to get me into your bed?” Nino tried to joke. 

Aiba shook his head fast with shocked wide eyes. “No! Not like that. I want to spend my last night together with you.”

Nino giggled even as he shrugged. “You know that I wouldn’t mind sleeping with you? Come on, how many dates did we have?”

Aiba grimaced a little. “Still, I don’t…” He stopped speaking for a second, looking at him with a frown. 

Nino watched him before he tugged at his wrist for a second. “You’re a romantic. I knew it. Okay, let me spend this night with you platonically lying side by side of each other.” It was clear to him that Aiba wanted to wait. Wait for what, Nino had no idea. 

Aiba greeted the person behind the reception with a bright smile as they entered the hotel. He then lead Nino to the elevator, and soon Nino found himself in a small, but clean room. 

Aiba rummaged through his suitcase until he produced a big shirt and threw it at Nino. “Here, you can change into that. It’s more comfortable than what you’re wearing.”

Nino caught it. It was clear that Aiba had no ulterior motives here, which was cute, Nino had to say. He vanished into the bathroom, closing the door behind him as he changed into the shirt Aiba had given him. It was too big - no surprises here, Aiba was a giant in comparison to him - and came back to Aiba, who did the same afterwards. 

Nino watched Aiba climb into the bed, pulling the blanket back. “Come to me,” he said as he patted the space between his legs.

Nino looked at him with a bit of confusion before he caught on. A small laugh escaped him as he climbed on the bed to lean against him. “You’re warm.” It wasn’t the first time he had realised it, but it was the first time he was so close to the older man with so little clothes between them.

“I’m sorry?”

“Don’t be. It’s good for winter, I suppose.” Nino grinned when Aiba put his chin on Nino’s shoulder. 

Aiba drew small patterns over the shirt on his stomach and hummed questioningly. “When will you come back to Japan?”

“When this term is over.” 

“Still so long,” Aiba said with an unhappy face. 

“Too long to wait?” Nino asked, surprising himself with how much he feared the answer. 

Aiba hummed but shook his head. “No. Of course not.” 

Nino nodded, relieved at his answer. 

Aiba chuckled as he moved so that they were lying down. He held Nino around the waist, pressing his lips against his necks. “Were you worried?” 

“Of course not!” Nino looked up sharply and bit his lips before he could say that he had started these dates thinking it would just be a fling. 

Aiba didn't answer but he could feel the grin forming on his skin. 

“Sleep now.” Nino hit him on the arm and moved around until the arms around him tightened. 

“Stop wriggling around then,” Aiba scolded and bit him on the shoulder. 

Nino gasped in mock horror. “You bit me!” He turned around to look at him with a small glare. 

Aiba chuckled as he put one arm under his head and the other over Nino’s waist. “It stopped you from wriggiling. Sleep now?” 

“Horrible domestic violence,” Nino mumbled as he finally settled down and closed his eyes when Aiba chuckled again. 

He pretended to fall to sleep, his nose pressed against Aiba’s shoulder where he could listen to his heartbeats and slow breaths. When Aiba was asleep, he moved back a little to look at the older man. Aiba looked beautiful asleep like that. 

His eyes fell to Aiba’s chest, and he wished he could just check if Aiba had a soulmark, but he was scared that he didn’t. Aiba would have said something if he had one. Nino was sure of that. Aiba was such a romantic that he would have told him if they were two halves of one soul. Still, his fingers wandered over to the collar of the shirt. Nino wanted to pull it down halfway but he stopped himself. With a small sigh, Nino snuggled up to Aiba and closed his eyes to fall asleep against him. 

— 

The next morning, at the airport, Nino wanted to ask about the soulmark again but he stopped himself. Instead he pressed close to the older man, pulling him down to press a warm kiss to his lips. 

“Just wait for me. If not I’ll hunt you down,” Nino warned with a smirk. 

Aiba laughed as he hugged him tightly and warmly. Nino was sure that he would miss this warmth very much now that Aiba was leaving. 

“I promise. We’ll stay in contact,” Aiba said close to his ear before letting him go and leaving when his flight was called. 

Nino sighed as he watched him go. He already missed Aiba. Nino rolled his eyes at his thoughts. He was not that pathetic. At least he had thought so. Also, he had only known Aiba for two months, and Nino was sure that it was impossible for him to have fallen in love in such a short time. 

Nino stood there until the flight disappeared from the display panel before finally going home. He had never felt so lonely here in this foreign country. 

—

_//Nino-chan, I’m home!!! (゜◇゜)ゞ Everything went well. How are you? Already missing me?//_

_//Stupid, why should I miss you? You’ve not even been gone a whole day.//_

_//Awww sad. I already miss you very much. And I miss the cakes at your shop. Do you know how to make them?//_

_//I’m a waiter there, not a baker, so of course not. I don’t like sweets, so why should I bother to learn how to make them?//_

_//Probably because you are already so sweet （☆∀☆）//_

Nino felt his cheeks burn brightly when he read that last message and decided not to answer that in any way.

_//Sho-chan brought me to a little coffee shop here back in Japan. You’d like it. The coffee is strong and black, and it has lots of delicious treats. ԅ(♡﹃♡ԅ) I met the owner already, who is really lovely. He makes all the sweets himself. His co-worker is scary though (T⌓T)//_

_//Who is Sho-chan?//_

_//My colleague with the strict schedule? I told him about him right?//_

_//Right, I remember…//_

_//Are you jealous? Don’t be I would never be with anyone else but you. Also, Sho-chan is way too strict and doesn’t like the extra-bits I have between my legs if you know what I mean v(￣∇￣) ♪～(￣ε￣)//_

_//I’m not and I don’t care, WTH?//_

_//Nino-chan is cute~~~ (๑♡3♡๑)//_

“Stupid,” Nino muttered as he put the phone to the side to look at the recipe he had written down with a frown. Maybe he himself was even more stupid.

—

_//(o。_。)o Sorry I didn’t call, but I had to do an extra shift… Well, I hope you don’t hate me. Happy Birthday, Masaki .+(´^ω^`)+. (urgh now you are even making me do emoticons. I should hate you)//_

_//I thought you had forgotten me ●︿●. I’m glad you didn’t, though （⌒▽⌒）. Thank you. I had a nice day with the others at captain’s coffee shop. They made a birthday cake for me. I still miss you （◞‸◟） When will you come back? You said the end of the year, right? Love you too (´ε｀ )♡//_

Nino stared at the message. He couldn’t believe that Aiba wasn’t angry at him. He nibbled at his lips and looked down at the phone for a second before he pressed the call button. 

“Nino-chan? What’s up? Something wrong? Are you hurt?” Aiba’s voice was a mix of surprise and worry. 

“If you would stop talking for a second… I kinda lied, I’m not late because I had an extra shift. I’m late because my message earlier didn’t get through. I’m at the Narita airport…” Nino stopped talking with baited breath, feeling suddenly insecure and shy. 

The line was silent for a second before there was an almost deafening yell from Aiba. “What? When? Why didn’t you tell me? Is there someone to get you? No, wait there, I’ll come.”

Nino chuckled at his words. “That’s stupid. Text me your address. It it’s alright for me to come over I’ll take a cab.”

“Of course you are, are you stupid? Did you have dinner? I can order something! God, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“Just text me your address. I didn’t have dinner. I just landed,” Nino replied as calmly as possible, but he couldn’t hide the soft shaking of his voice at the thought of meeting Aiba again so soon. He had missed the other more and more with each day. The closer his departure day from America came, the worse it had gotten. But now that he was here, he was strangely calm except for this fluttering in his stomach. 

—

Aiba’s smile was blinding when he threw the door open the moment Nino stepped out of the elevator. Nino stopped in his tracks at so suddenly being face to face to Aiba again. Aiba didn’t seem to care about his surprise since he just ran up to Nino to embrace him. 

Nino sighed contently as he felt the warmth around him. He’d been right. It was perfect for this cold weather. The hug felt like coming home. 

Silly, Nino thought. He had never been here before. How could he feel like that?

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Aiba said with a grin as he took his suitcase from him and pulled him inside. 

Nino allowed himself to be pulled along by Aiba’s excitement and happiness. He leant against the door when it was closed behind him to drag Aiba down to be on the same height with him. 

“How much did you miss me?” he asked a bit breathlessly from all the emotions swirling around in him. 

“More than you would believe,” Aiba answered as he finally closed the small distance between them to kiss him.

Nino didn’t remember how they ended up in Aiba’s bedroom. He remembered being surprised with which ease Aiba had picked him up but not much more. He blinked when he landed on the bed (much more comfortable than the last one they had shared, he noted) and pulled Aiba further down to kiss him again. He wouldn’t be able to stop today, but it didn’t look like Aiba had any intentions of stopping either. At least Nino hoped so when Aiba climbed on top of him, his hands wandering under his shirt to push it up. 

Aiba’s hands were hot on his body as they pushed the shirt up over his head. For a fleeting moment, Nino feared Aiba would say something about his mark, but no sound escaped him. Instead, his lips followed the path of his fingers and hands. Nino realised that Aiba’s lips were just as warm as the rest of him. It made him wonder, honestly. 

Nino gasped when Aiba bit his nipple and pressed against him for a second. Aiba teased the nipple with his tongue before Nino managed to push him away slightly. “Let me,” Nino said hoarsely when Aiba looked at him curiously. 

“Okay.” Aiba caught his lips into another deep kiss before rolling off Nino and pulling him onto his lap. He took Nino’s face in between his hands, caressing the pink lips lovingly with his thumb. Another kiss was pressed to the tip of his nose and then the side of his mouth. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.”

There was a sarcastic remark somewhere in the back of his head, Nino was sure of it. But Aiba looked so honest, so open that he couldn’t bring it to the forefront. “Me too,” he answered instead pressing kisses to Aiba’s lips, chin and neck. “I missed you.” 

Aiba gasped, and the hands on Nino’s hips tightened for a second or two before Nino’s hands found their way to the small buttons of Aiba’s shirt. He opened them one after the other, caressing the newly exposed skin. Aiba flinched when Nino’s fingers wandered over his chest, felt the different texture of his skin there.

Nino pulled back softly at this discovery to look down. At the scar. “What?” he asked in wonder. The scar was on the right side of Aiba’s chest. It looked ugly and big, and he wondered what happened to Aiba for it to be there. 

“My right lung collapsed. It didn’t heal very well,” Aiba explained. 

Nino detected the shame for this mark in Aiba’s voice, which was stupid, Nino thought. It made Aiba only more beautiful in his mind. The same with the birthmark on his shoulder he had seen during their time in America. Aiba had been ashamed of his discoloured skin then as well. Nino’s lips wandered down to caress the scar with his lips, to show Aiba just how much he loved it - when he realised something. There was black writing, it was distorted and broken with the scar tissue but it was there, Nino was sure of it. He pulled back, he just couldn’t help it. 

“Nino?” Aiba sat up when he realised that Nino was staring down at him. 

Nino moved to the side to switch on the lamp on Aiba’s bedside table. “You have a mark,” Nino mumbled, his hand was spread wide on the marking. It was on his right side, just like his. If Nino could just read it... “When did it appear?”

Aiba furrowed his brows as he was forced to move to his side. He blinked into the bright light when it hit his eyes. “During my trip. I couldn’t read it… I didn’t think much of it,” Aiba explained with a shrug. 

Aiba knew all about soulmates, of course, they learnt about it in school after all. But he never was on the lookout for them.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Nino muttered as he squinted his eyes to read the writing. His eyes widened when he finally recognised the words as the usual greeting in the shop he worked at in America. Aiba always ordered his dreaded latte macchiato. Nino didn’t dare to hope, but he could feel his heart beating faster, harder in his chest. 

“Aiba, it’s our greeting, from the shop. I recognise the name,” Nino explained as his fingers traced the words again and again. 

Aiba needed a bit longer to understand the gravitas of the words. When he did, his eyes widened. “Huh, interesting,” he whispered before moving around to turn off the light once again. He kissed Nino again, who giggled into Aiba’s mouth. 

Nino felt giddy with this discovery, and when Aiba’s fingers found his mark again, he felt heat coiling up in his stomach. He had already given up on meeting his soulmate. To discover that it was the man that he had learnt to love over the course of a few months made everything even more special. 

Aiba tugged Nino down to kiss him deeply once more. He rolled around with Nino in his arms, had straddle Aiba again. “As happy as I about that, I think we had something we wanted to do? Let me love you?” he asked as he ducked down to kiss Nino’s mark lovingly. 

“Yes!” Nino agreed as Aiba moved up again to meet his lips in a kiss. 

He was surprised and happy to think that his childhood vow had come true. His very first love was also his soulmate.


End file.
